Sony Responds To “Last of Us 2” Violence Backlash

Naughty Dog’s “The Last of Us” is one of the most acclaimed video games ever made. Topping many game of year lists at the time, its was a very dark tale that takes some shocking and at times brutal twists.

There was little doubt the sequel will follow the same tone, but even so – some have been caught off guard by the recent Paris Game Show trailer which features graphic violence against both women and children. The clip, unveiled at the company’s media briefing along with a slew of new content for the PS4, has drawn quite a bit of reaction.

In the wake of its release, The Telegraph chatted with Jim Ryan who is the President of Global Sales and Marketing for Sony Interactive Entertainment and was asked about the game’s brutality. He says:

“The Last of Us obviously is a game made by adults to be played by adults. I should never prejudge this but it will probably be rated ’18’, I think it’s fair to say. And there’s that market for those people who like that sort of game. Adults who like that sort of game. And I think we cater for that, and at the other end of the spectrum there was Concrete Genie, which my 8 year old decided was the game she would like to play very much.

I think a platform holder provides a platform and the people who make games, whether they’re our own studios or third party publishers, they bring the content to the platform. We provide the platform. We have to ensure the right content is played by the right people – of appropriate ages in particular. I thought The Last of Us Part 2 was a great way to end the show and I feel very good about it.”

But was the use of an extremely violent clip, especially of unfamiliar characters and without anything in the way of context, the best way to sell the game?

“I think what we’re trying to do is to portray qualities of the various games we had on show. And I think it is difficult when you have a clip of four or five minutes to synthesise a gameplay experience that can be measured in the tens of hours. And, again, the studio was seeking to portray a game that will be rated as suitable for adults to play and that’s what we did.